‘entertaining and a lot of fun served up by an undoubtedly talented cast and creative team’
The 1908 motorcar race from New York to Paris via Vladivostok is perhaps one of history’s more intriguing yet lesser-known events, sandwiched as it is between some major global goings on, but in the hands of co-writers/directors Elliot Bailey and Rob Hardie, it is ruthlessly picked apart in a largely hilarious retelling.
With a Reporter (Eddi Asher) setting the scene in Times Square, New York, February 12th, 1908, we are introduced to six teams who quite rapidly dwindle to four: The Americans led by Monty (Tom Terrance) with support from Schuster (Bailey), MacAdam (Hardie), and Miller (Kieran Maleedy); the Germans led by Hans (Terrance); the remaining French team led by St. Chaffray (Maleedy); and of course the Italian pairing of Emilio (Hardie) and Antonio (Maleedy), with countless other characters played by the company as the journey gets into full throttle. With plenty of intrigue and human drama, the question is not so much who will get there first, but how will they get there, if at all.
Bailey and Hardie’s staging takes full advantage of the opportunities that the Royal Court Studio has to offer whilst cleverly negotiating its challenges, with excellent use of an adaptable set and props, overseen by stage manager Jade Harrington, to keep the action moving, which is complemented by rapid costume tweaks and changes from a mostly ensemble cast that literally move us between cars and locations. There was a world map displayed to one side, and I wonder whether that could be further exploited to show the progress that is being reported upon in future productions.
Composer and musical director Alec Walters has provided some original composition that captures the period perfectly and seamlessly resonates with the on-stage action and changing locales alongside adept lighting and sound effects from Miriam Bell.
The cast performed strongly throughout delivering some excellently choreographed routines from Harrington. Asher rose to the challenge of effectively being a narrator, staying engaged throughout, and offering perhaps the voice of reason with a perfect American accent, whilst Bailey excelled as Schuster delivering a well-rounded, likeable, and most importantly believable character complete with flaws that the audience could truly connect with.
Hardie, Maleedy, and Terrance all impressed in multi-rolling, delineating between their respective characters through accent and gesture that engaged the audience quickly on a fast, frantic, and frenzied ride that is predominantly played for laughs around national stereotypes.
So far so good, so what’s not to like?
Overall, it’s entertaining and a lot of fun served up by an undoubtedly talented cast and creative team, but I believe there’s something stronger lurking beneath, which I hope they are brave enough to look for.
Firstly, there is too much going on which at times becomes a distraction and is to the detriment of what to me is the main plot at its heart: a strong and moving story about Schuster. Whilst I understand the introduction to the six competitors, it quickly becomes a constraint when they keep rearing their heads in such an obvious way: yes, we have a lot of very funny parts, but it doesn’t necessarily add up to a satisfying whole.
At two hours fifteen including an interval, it felt too long and there is ample opportunity to trim back some of the repetitive characterisation to keep the wheels turning so to speak with a more impactful production: what could have been a powerful and emotive ending with real punch – indeed the audience broke into spontaneous applause – was undone by the unnecessary reappearance of two characters to further embellish a ‘funny’ off-storyline.
Bailey and Hardie are undoubtedly talented as writers, directors, and actors, but as I frequently note, sometimes you can be too invested and involved in the production which can make it difficult to see the wood for the trees; the introduction of a creative yet critical friend to challenge the writing and its performance could prove advantageous in taking this production to the next level.
The great Race: New York to Paris performs for one more night at Liverpool’s Royal Court Studio on 22nd August at 7pm with booking details at https://liverpoolsroyalcourt.com/studio/the-great-race-new-york-to-paris/
Review Date: 21st August 2026
Star Rating: FOUR